A Blue Devil

A while back my brother asked me an innocent question that has stuck with me ever since.  That question was “are there any common (translated local) birds you haven’t been able to photograph yet?”.  At the time I think I said there were a few especially in the smaller bird category since I have trouble distinguishing the Sparrows from each other and some of those Wrens are just so damn hyper I can’t get a bead on them.  Frequently, I come back to that question when I’m looking through a bird reference our even while out in the field and trying to decide if I want to make the effort to shoot what appears to be a common bird – “do I have that checked off the list or not?”  There is usually some doubt after the internal debate since I don’t actually carry my list with me.  Turns out there is one bird that fits this category and that is this one.
Blue Jay

Yep, the uber common Blue Jay that inhabits almost anywhere you look here in the Midwest.  I was going through my backlog and saw this set of shots taken in our woods one particularly dreary day.  I was about to skip over the shots when I remembered the question.  Might as well check just in case.  To my surprise I did not have it checked off (remember that I do not officially give myself the mark until the shots appear on the blog).  Apparently I had overlooked this common bird!

Blue Jay

Hit the jump to read more about the notorious Blue Jay

Continue reading A Blue Devil

There’s Love in the Marsh

Drum roll please… no really, let’s hear it … drum roll…. Welcome to the first bird post of 2015 .. explosions, streamer, ticker tapes, applause and drunken anarchy in the streets. Or, maybe not.  Well, at least not the anarchy part since this isn’t a new bird to the blog.  We featured the Mute Swan previously in a two parter back in February ’14 (link here and here).
Mute Swans at Banner Marsh

The previous posts were from the Banner Marsh in Banner IL.  This shoot is also from Banner and for all I know are the exact same Swans.  They don’t wear clothes so it is really hard to tell them apart.  When I have to go through the painful process of talking about my hobbies and interests (a common activity as a result of numerous reorgs at work as of late) I always mention that my favorite part of photography is when I can get wildlife behavior in the tin.  Stoic shots are nice to have in the portfolio, but I personally prefer shots that have some form of emotion or expression that tells a little bit more.  Today’s featured shots do just that.  We were out at Banner on a rather cool day when things in the water began to heat up.  The Swan above came strolling by and spotted something of interest.  Up went the charm wings as it moved in for a closer look.

P

Hit the jump to see what all the excitement was on the marsh

Continue reading There’s Love in the Marsh

On the Trail of Oregon

Ahhhh, my first day of the holiday season vacation!   Of course, this just means I swap career work items for honey do work items but it sure feels great to be able to sleep in a bit.  Knowing all the things I have to get done over this break, figured it would be prudent to get some December posts out of the way.  So, I bring you today’s featured feathered friend.
Oregon Junco - Nevada

I took this while out hiking the Red Rock Canyon in Nevada (outside of Las Vegas).  We’ve been there a couple of times now and based on the previous posts and some that are still in the hopper, I must say it has produced a surprising number of checks in the bird list – add in the marks gained from Henderson and Nevada has been very very good to me – they obviously have better wildlife than they do politicians.   For those not aware, this particular specimen comes from the Dark-Eyed Junco family.  Their long black hood is pretty distinctive in the birding arena.  The Dark-Eyed Juncos have been featured on the blog a number of times now (links here, here and here).  Because of they are relatively common (they show up in droves here every Winter).  I usually don’t get too excited about capturing them but as a rule, “never pass up a bird shot”.  Once again this principle has likely led to a new mark in the bird list.

Oregon Junco - Nevada

If you look at the specimens in the links above or live in the Midwest you are familiar with one variation of the Dark-Eyed Junco – the Slate Colored group.  They are aptly named in that they are pretty much dark gray colored from head and top feathering through to the tail. Typically they have a white underbelly with some variation in gender.  There is a White-Winged group, a Gray-Headed group and a Pink-Sided group to name a few, but none of those variations have the distinctive executioner hood.  It is this specific feature that led me to the determination that this is an Oregon group Dark-Eyed Junco.

Hit the jump to see a couple more pictures of the Junco (a different one to be specific) and learn a few facts about this little bird.

Continue reading On the Trail of Oregon

Reaching for a Kestrel

Hope your holidays season is going well for those who take part in the festivities.  Things are winding down at work, well, let’s put it in a more accurate manner – my workdays are coming to a close this year but work is definitely not winding down and 2015 is looking to be back on the SAP roller coaster once again.  As for now, I’m enjoying taking the last of my vacation days and thought I’d spend a bit of that working on the blog quota.  As mentioned previously, I have a number of posts in the queue in the Halloween decoration arena and thanks to an awesome recent gift from my brother looks like I’ll be adding additional chapters to that project – more to come!  I try to keep a variety around here, and therefore weaving in other topics among Posey posts.  In that vein I give you a bird that has a history of taunting me.

K

This bird of prey may be small in stature, but what it makes up for in size is more than compensated by its elusiveness.  For those not familiar with this ornately colored bird it is the American Kestrel.  Living out in the country I have the benefit putting eyes on these cool birds fairly often.  Typically they are spotted hanging out on a high overhead wire or on top of a tall sign.  Whenever I’m driving I’ll routinely scan those areas looking for a solitary bird staring intently at the ground.

Kestrel

Hit the jump to see and read more about the Kestrel.

Continue reading Reaching for a Kestrel

The Pelicans of Fort Myers

Against all my internal warnings I opted to head out to do some Black Friday shopping earlier in the morning.  I put full blame on Linda.  She was the catalyst for this insanity and she only made part of the overall excursion.  It all started at 10:30pm Thanksgiving night when we gathered around the table for our annual perusal of the ads to see what the hot deals were this year and more importantly, compile wish lists for others.  At midnight Linda puts the option on the table that if we headed to Target we could get a big jump on gifts for our relatives based on a positive assessment of their ad.  We had just come from a trip to see the family earlier in the evening and I got a 6.5 mile run on the treadmill after that .. so sure, why not.  By the time we got back it was 2:30am (we hit BB while we were at it).  Home Depot opened their doors at 5:00am meaning there was really only 2 hours before I would have to leave the house to get there.  Not really tired yet I opted to do that and hit Menards as well – mainly to buy gifts for Linda to give me for Xmas.  Those adventures could probably be a post all by themselves (and they likely will), but let’s just say I rocked it, getting essentially everything on my list!  Once again Linda owes me (anyone keeping track .. besides myself).  The best part of it, I used the 2 hour wait to crank out the last set of pictures for the November quota.  My drive is still being restored thanks to the crash but had these images lying around from the UB 2013 prep (link here).

On this last post for November, I introduce you to the Brown Pelican.
Brown Pelican shot in Fort Myers, Florida

These first two shots were in the running for the UB competition but I am pretty sure I opted against entering them in favor of what I thought were better candidates.  The courting Willets on the shoreline that were entered that year were from the same shoot.  My brother Ron and I were down in Fort Myers, Florida to drive my parents back from their Winter stay.  A couple of birding references indicated there was a lagoon nearby that was fantastic for bird shooting.  Just meant hauling the 80-200 glass down there to see what they had to offer.  It did not disappoint.  There will be a multi-post series on the results from that trip as soon as my drive gets restored, but consider this a teaser.  Admittedly, we had our doubts while trying to locate the lagoon since it a) isn’t marked and b) is tucked behind hotels lining the shoreline.  Sure enough, when we followed the source’s directions we ended up standing on a lagoon teeming with wildlife.  Ospreys, crabs, Herons, Gulls and Egrets were abundant – all hanging out around or hunting for fish in the lagoon.  My Father rightfully warned us about the potential presence of alligators but we never encountered one (bummer).

Brown Pelican shot in Fort Myers, Florida

Hit the jump and read more about this intriguing bird.

Continue reading The Pelicans of Fort Myers

Frankly It’s a Gull

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  Things have been busy around Brianland lately  thanks to some creative work going on in the Halloween Decoration arena, Project Auunoooold activities (yes, that effort is STILL going on) and. of course. the general holiday gatherings and such.  As a result, my throughput on the Blog has suffered a little and for that I apologize.  I was a little shocked today when I looked at the calendar and noticed a) I only had three posts so far this month and b) there wasn’t a whole lot of boxes left on there.  Good thing is whenever I get in a bind I can always put a bird post out and that is exactly what we are going to do today.  Ladies and gentlemen I introduce you to…
Franklin's Gull on the Mississippi

The “laughing” Gull.  Actually, that isn’t the technical name of this bird (thus the quoting), but thought it would be a clever play on the picture above.  It does look like it is having a fun time hanging out on the shores of the Mississippi River.  Linda and I were up there on a shoot  in the Quad Cities.   For the curious, the Laughing Gull pretty much hangs out along the Southeast coast of the US which puts it out of range for this particular shot.

Franklin's Gull on the Mississippi

I was out taking some shots along the shore when noticed this specimen foraging alone.  Usually I don’t spend much time on the Gulls because of their abundance and the number of times I’ve been given rude looks by locals who spot me giving them any attention at all – one things is for sure, shoreline locals HATE the Gull and don’t appreciate it when they see someone that might be encouraging them to hang around for any length of time (this especially refers to people on Mackinac Island who openly chastised me for taking a picture of Gull there – I looked at them, listened to their whine and then continued shooting but good to know where they stand).

Franklin's Gull on the Mississippi

Hit the jump to read more about this colorful Gull.

Continue reading Frankly It’s a Gull

Bugging Out

And now for something complete different.  Thought it was time to switch it up a little on the Blog and probably more of a driver to finally get a collection from the small world out of my queue.  This is one of those posts that makes me cringe through the entire process.  First, taking the actual picture puts you waaaay to close to these creatures.  Second, processing them forces you to zoom even closer into the shots to check crispiness and worst of all, researching what it is we are staring out gives me a serious case of the heebee jeebees.  Taking that lead.. here’s a bee
Small World

An immediate confession is needed here.  I suck at identifying insects and arachnids so be forewarned, I’m going to leave you hanging on some of these but most of the time I should be able to get you close.  In this particular situation close means I can identify the subject as a member of the bee family, but much more than that would be a stretch.  If threatened with waterboarding I’d take a guess that it is a Common Eastern Bubble Bee based on numerous reference shots.  On the learning side, that beige blob on the hind leg of the bee is called a Pollen Basket where the Bee places pollen grains (who’d a thought) in for the trip back to the hive.

Next up one I probably owe a HUGE apology to.   I believe this is a Big Dipper Firefly or more commonly referred to in my neck of the woods, the Lightening Bug.

Small World

The Insect Identification website (link here) makes a point to mention how harmless these creatures are and how you should never put them in a jar because it stresses them.  The good news I didn’t STRESS them by putting them in a jar.  Nope I basically slaughtered them by the thousands when I was growing with a yellow wiffleball bat.  Literally thousands if not millions.  Midwest kids are generally damn good baseball hitters for what I believe is due to the bioluminescence of these bugs — err more correctly “beetles” posses.  Every Summer night we were out in the dark smacking the hell out of them with our bats (or tennis racquets if that happens to be your sport) in order to watch the chemical light show splatter into the darkness from a well place swing.  If you can nail a lightening bug in the dark you can hit a giant baseball with ease.

Small World

I can still remember putting the bat away at the end of the night and it still glowing brightly from the night’s home runs.  It may not have been eco-friendly but it kept us from planning more devious activities.

Hit the jump to see bunch more insects collected since my last bug post.

Continue reading Bugging Out

Tell Tail Hawk

I’m back with another request for bird identification help.  I shot this Hawk while on a shoot along the Mississippi River up in the Quad Cities.
Credit Island Hawk

To be more specific, I took this on Credit Island in Davenport in the December 2012 timeframe.  Yeah, yeah, I’m waaaay behind but the good news is I’ve been able to start processing again (now completed Jan and Feb of 13 in a desperate attempt not to fall more than two years behind).  Enough about my struggles … we have a bird to talk about!!!

Credit Island Hawk

This particular Hawk was a surprise find while out on the island looking for Eagles.  They tend to congregate along the Mississippi providing an excellent opportunity to expend the portfolio.  Having hit our standard shooting spot, we took our normal loop through Credit Island.  The Eagles along that stretch of the island have figured out they can hunt in peace in the large trees across the channel so pickings there are usually thin – from the Eagle opportunities.  That doesn’t mean there isn’t opportunities for other feathered friends and sometimes even those with fur.

Hit the jump to read more about this Hawk.. oh, and my guess to what it is

Continue reading Tell Tail Hawk

Seeing Red

Figured it was about time to tear myself away from robotics and animatronics for a bit to at least get a quick post out.  I’ve been spending a lot of time working up some new Halloween prop structures to add to my Haunted Trail collection next year.  I know, I know it is a long way from now (Linda reminded me of just that fact earlier today), but my new PVC form structures design is now fully jointed and just begging to have some servos added to it.  I haven’t worked with this stuff since college so a little rusty on – watching a lot of videos and reading what I can to figure out what options are out there.  Tomorrow is a run to Menards to get some materials to make a few motion sensors as a start.  When I noticed it was suppose to snow (again) tomorrow including our first accumulation. I thought it was fitting to feature a post on one of my favorite Winter subjects.

Cardinal

That’s right, the Northern Cardinal.  There are a few things I always find very pleasing from a composition perspective and one of them is photographs of Cardinals in the Winter months.  Typically the Winter days can range from a rather drab day to an all out white out depending on how the season is going.. oh sorry, maybe I should refer to it as “how the ‘climate change’ is going” just to fit into the cool crowd that doesn’t realize climate is suppose changes when you move out of California.  The best part of photographing Cardinals is it doesn’t matter how bad the weather is, the Cardinal always stands out against whatever backdrop you happen to be around.

Cardinal

These happened to be taken in our backyard a year or so back.  If there is one bird we have plenty of here in the Midwest it is the Cardinal.  I think my record for number of those fiery birds is 26 at one time.  They definitely like our feeders with Sunflowers.  By nature, these birds tend to hit the feeders, grab some seed and then fly back to the safety of the branches in the trees just off the porch – definitely not at the same skittish degree as the Nuthatches or Chickadees).  It is always better for us nature photographers when you have a predictable subject.

Cardinal

Hit the jump to see some more shots of this beautiful bird .. and maybe I’ll throw in bonus bird!

Continue reading Seeing Red

No Porcupines, but At Least a Deer

Guessing those who read my last post may need some Um to counteract the scary Yang from the last post.  I was looking through my queue of posts and noticed this set of shots.  Nothing says calm and tranquility like a shot of a harmless deer!
Deer in the Porcupines

There, your nerves should be returning to normal.  This also seemed appropriate due to the fact that my local park, where all my training occurs, is loaded with people trying to kill these creatures.  Nothing says a training run like jogging past a person coming out of the woods in a Ghillie suit.  One thing for sure is the deer population is down in our specific area which is often referred to as Big Buck Country.  In fact, I have not seen a buck this year at all and just a few does that have crossed the road ahead of me while coming home from work.  In the past Chronic Wasting has been pretty hard on them, but as of late the main killer has been Bluetongue which is a particularly nasty insect born viral disease.

Ooops, I think it heard me say that.

Deer in Porcupines

Hit the jump to see and read a bit more about this particular shoot – oh, and see something I haven’t done for a loooooong time.

Continue reading No Porcupines, but At Least a Deer